Ad spend is simply the cost of advertising. It is the amount of money a business or organization spends on advertising its products, services, or brand. Ad spend is the cost of placing advertising on various channels such as Google, Facebok, TikTok, television, radio, print, and outdoor billboards just to name a few.
The calculation of ad spend is very straightforward. To calculate ad spend, you simply add up the total cost of all advertising within a specified period, such as a week, a month, a quarter, or a year. Although some advertisers will include expenses, such as production costs, media buying fees, and agency fees, ad spend is often used to track only how much it costs to buy media/ad space on specific (or a group of) channels.
You can find ad spend in the cost column of the channel you’re advertising on.
How to use ad spend and what does it tell you
Ad spend can tell you a lot about the performance of your advertising campaigns and how effective they are at reaching your target audience. By tracking ad spend over time, you can determine which advertising channels are providing the best return on investment (ROI) and which ones may need to be optimized or eliminated.
Ad spend can also be used to determine the overall effectiveness of your marketing strategy, as it is an indicator of how much you are investing in reaching your target audience and promoting your brand. Finally, ad spend can be compared to revenue generated to determine the ROI of your advertising efforts, which can help you make informed decisions about where to allocate your marketing budget.